The Importance of the Mathnasium Hour

I.

Introduction
- Reminder of the Mathnasium hour
o What it is?
o Why its important?
o Explanation of what youre selling (most employees dont realize what
youre actually selling)
- Quick overview of the workshop
o What each station is, etc.

II.

Numerical Fluency
- Instructor (running the table) gives a quick introduction
o Name
o School/grade
o Math background
o How long theyve been working there
- What is Numerical Fluency
o Why its important
o What we test for
o How often we test them
o Proper teaching methods
Adding to 10
Adding doubles is the same as 2xs
Adding doubles +1 and -1

III.

Checking In/First 5 minutes

- Instructor (running the table) gives a quick introduction
o Name
o School/grade
o Math background
o How long theyve been working there
- What to do when a student approaches your table
o Make sure they have their binder and that they scanned in
o Greetings
Asking about their day
How school was, etc.
o The Binder
Student check in page
How to check in
Date
Time they arrive
Initials

 HW/Test boxes
Comments
What questions to ask
Do you have any HW?
o Determine which questions you will definitely go
over with the student
Do you have any Tests?
The importance of these questions and how they dictate the
Mathnasium hour
o Warming up
Math Facts (1-12) / Math facts should be done before every session
10 is my friend
10 plus a number
Math fact sheets used for times tables
Math fact sheet for recording
IV.

Working the Table

- Instructor (running the table) gives a quick introduction
o Name
o School/grade
o Math background
o How long theyve been working there
- The Binder
o Section 1
Results page from their assessment
The curriculum that was generated from the assessment
Math facts recording sheet
Student attitudes sheet
o Section 2
Prescriptives (Pks)
What are they?
Why are they important?
How to correct them
What are mastery checks?
o How are they different from other sheets?
Explain the Black tab
Moving sheets up from section to section, etc.
o Section 3
Workout book
The importance of it
o Section 4
Collection of Mastery Checks
How to correct a mastery check

o DATE!!

V.

o Section 5
The collection of all other sheets
Pks
Workout book sheets
Distributing sheets
o 3 Pks
o 3 Workout book pages
The reason why we do this
What to do after/if the student completes 3 pks and 3 workout pgs

Homework and Tests

- Homework Policy
o Explain how the hour is broken up
For elementary
5 min warm-up
35 min mathnasium (working in the binder)
20 min homework
play a game for remainder, if time allows
For middle school
5 min warm-up
30 min mathnasium (working in the binder)
25 min homework
For high school
High schoolers are allowed an hour and a half
5 min warm-up
4 sheets of mathnasium (working in the binder)
40-45 min homework
explain how stubborn high schoolers can be when it comes
to mathnasium and how to handle it
o Explain spot checking
We arent asked to check every problem
But dont be oblivious to questions they may have done worng
o Teach and move on
When working with multiple students, you have to delegate your
time with them
Demonstrate teach and move on
Explain why we teach this way
Has the students learn on their own
While giving them guidance on their work
Explain also how it helps the instructor when they have a full table
o Team Teaching
Explain what team teaching is

VI.

How it differs between elementary/middle and high school

Being aware of all the students around you, not just the ones in
front of you
Dont feel glued to where youre sitting
You can get up and move around to help other
instructors/students
Demonstrate what team teaching would like for elementary/middle
Demonstrate team teaching for high school and how the lead
instructor is involved with team teaching
Why is team teaching important
Gives the student different perspectives of a topic
Allows the student to be more comfortable with different
instructors
o There are students who will only work with certain
instructors
It allows the student to always be engaged, rather than
waiting for the instructor who could be working with
another student

Test Policy
o Explain how the hour changes when a student has a test
For elementary/middle
5 min warm-up
20 min mathnasium (working in the binder)
30-35 min studying for tests
For high school
High schoolers are allowed an hour and a half
5 min warm-up
3 sheets of mathnasium (working in the binder)
o If the student completes the sheets rather quickly
then you can distribute a couple more
o Use your judgement
Remainder of the time is used for studying for tests
How to tell students that their time is up
o High school students are notorious for staying past
their allotted time
o What to do when a student doesnt have materials to study with
Tell the lead instructor
Get an idea of what the student has a test on
Lead instructor will provide necessary Mathnasium sheets
Textbooks are available
Customer Service
- What to do when parents come in
o Greet them

 Dont let them stand there looking confused

o Ask how you can help them
If you dont know how to answer their question
Tell the lead instructor
Tell molly/Shannon
o Explain the different reasons why parents come in
They want to talk to Molly/Shannon
Their child is taking an assessment
They want to sign up with the program
They want their student to focus on a particular topic they learned
in school
VII.

Closing Remarks
- Employee Evaluation
o Performance Evaluation
Completed by Shannon
Based on observations during working hours and feedback from
the lead instructor
For new instructors, evaluations will be completed after the first 90
days and at the end of the semester
Returning instructors will be evaluated half way through the
semester